Without wanting to sound like a broken record, here at the FirstFound Blog we’ve mentioned the importance of Facebook Business Pages once or twice.Or seven or eight times – we forget which exactly.

But our point stands, especially now that Facebook have announced that they’ll be working alongside online auctioneer Ebay to create a brand new integrated ecommerce system. Or, in plain English, Facebook and Ebay are bringing online shopping to social media.

Facebook will be working alongside eBay and subsidiary Magento to ‘seamlessly integrate’ Facebook pages with Magento’s online shopping software. And the data they provided when this partnership was announced demonstrates that there’s real money to be made for businesses who want to sell socially:

• Levi Jeans – Over 50% of Cyber Monday traffic on their online shop comes from Facebook referrals
• American Eagle – Customers entering the site via Facebook spend 57% more than those who don’t

Seems fairly conclusive to us – this is a system that’s not just going to attract more customers. It’s going to attract customers that will spend more in your shop.

Security

But customers still have fears about security and privacy on Facebook – and a partnership with Ebay isn’t going to do much to address those concerns. Which is why a select group of Facebook users are testing another product developed in partnership with another, widely trusted company. PayPal.

Facebook, PayPal and Ebay. Sounds like a recipe for success to us…

Don’t forget to like FirstFound on Facebook, and follow FirstFound on Twitter.

But when you’re the criminal mastermind behind junk Facebook messages, you can probably be forgiven for surrendering – especially as you’re never really going to make it as an anti-hero. The man in question, Sanford “The Spam King” Wallace surrendered to FBI agents in California, where he’s being charged with sending over 27 million spam messages.

Hardly the heist of the century, but Wallace’s actions have irritated millions of people and could land him a ten year prison sentence.

He stands accused of six counts of email fraud, three counts of intentional damage to a protected computer and two counts of criminal contempt. Oh, and both Myspace and Facebook have sued him in the past – so his prospects aren’t looking good.

So while Mr Wallace’s actions won’t lead to a crime film worth watching, we’re hoping that his surrender does lead to less spam on the world’s leading social network.

There’s been a war of words in the press. There have been malicious press releases. But now Facebook’s war with Google has heated up even further. Because it looks like Google+ has rattled more than a few pages down at Facebook HQ.

This time it’s over advertising. Specifically, a fun little advert from an application developer who posted an advert on Facebook yesterday. The wording of the advert led to a ban – and bearing in mind that Facebook’s been criticised in the past for allowing hate groups and cyberbullying, you’d be forgiven for thinking this wording must be pretty offensive.

But you’d be wrong. Here’s the advert text:

Add Michael to Google+

If you’re lucky enough to have a Google+ account,
add Michael Lee Johnson, Internet Geek,
App Developer, Technological Virtuoso.

Seems harmless enough, right? Well not to Facebook, who banned all of Mr. Johnson’s adverts and suspended his advertising account for an unspecified violation.

Seems to us that Google might just have their rivals rattled. But it wouldn’t be surprising if Facebook  stops pretending that Plus doesn’t exist and starts to unveil new features to keep their users right where they are.

We could be in for very interesting times…

If your business isn’t on Facebook and Google, you’re missing out. So take us up on our £250 Facebook Fan Page offer!

Why? Well here are four reasons that should have even the biggest Facebook-phobe reaching for the Social Media Guide.

Four Reasons Your Business Really Should be on Facebook

Google + Is Still Behind

Since the launch of Google Plus, the entire web seems to have spoken with one voice; “Facebook is dead! Long Live Google Plus!”

Unfortunately, the internet isn’t always right. While it’s a possibility (some would argue a probability) that Plus will one day eclipse Facebook and allow Google to index everything we think, the facts speak for themselves.

Google Plus – 10 million users (14/7/11)

Facebook – 750 million users (15/7/11)

That’s pretty clear cut. Would you rather have a potential audience of ten million people (2/3 of the population of London) or seven hundred and fifty million people (2.5 times the population of the USA)?

Yeah, we thought so too.

Facebook is Still The World’s Most Popular Website

Do you know which other website has 750 million subscribers? None of them. Google’s topped a billion visits a day, but a few thousand of them come just from the technical department here at FirstFound.

There’s literally no other website in existence that can top Facebook in terms of reach. Sure, most of those people are only using Facebook to chat with friends and play FarmVille, but even if only 10% of users are using the site to inform purchasing decisions, you’re still reaching a huge audience.

In fact, after Search Engine Optimisation, having a Facebook page is about the smartest thing you can do to reach people online.

More and More Brands Have a Facebook Presence

What do Boots, John Lewis, HMV, FirstFound and Barack Obama have in common? We’ve all got our own professionally designed Facebook page.

Why? Because more and more brands are coming to realise that Facebook is a superb way of reaching out to people, influencing them and building up a reputation.

And if more brands are cottoning on to the power of Facebook, it’s a fair bet that your competitors are too. Which means that they might already be wooing your customers and stealing business from under your nose. Is that really a risk you want to take?

It’s a Cost Effective Way of Increasing Exposure

Marketing can be expensive. Marketing on Facebook can be very cheap indeed. Once your page has been designed, you’ll be able to run it for free, relying on users to spread the word for you. With only a small investment required, it’s almost certain that you’ll make a considerable return.

How many marketing techniques can promise that?

FirstFound are currently offering professional Facebook Page designs for just £250. See this quarter’s Optimise Magazine for details.

So say a selection of videos from the Ministry of Defense.  A marketing campaign from the MoD has raised the issue of members of the armed forces using social media sites to broadcast information on troop movements, top security visitors and where they like to go clubbing on their time off (no, really, that’s a genuine concern).

The “Personal Security Online” campaign is designed to show servicemen and women that by posting information on the internet, they could be compromising their own personal safety, as well as causing more general security issues.

One video shows two Navy personnel updating FourSquare, leading to them being tracked down by a machine-gun wielding terrorist. The other shows another terrorist learning of a visit from a “VVIP” when an airman sends his mother a message through Facebook.

They do appear to have missed something important though. If your mum invites terrorists around for a cup of tea on a Sunday afternoon, you should probably report her. Just to be on the safe side…

Or, if you’re a Daily Mail reader, a haven for paedophile sex gangs.

Funnily enough, Facebook have taken offence at the latest Mail headline linking the site with criminal activity. And they’re threatening to sue.

Friday’s edition of the Daily Mail led with the headline “How Many More Victims of Facebook Sex Gang?” – and a story claiming that the social networking website was central to a child abuse investigation involving over twenty children in the Torbay area.

Facebook pointed out that there was no evidence that the site was used to facilitate any sexual exploitation or abuse, and asked the Mail to change the headline and publish an apology.

The headline was duly changed, but a spokesperson claimed that there’d be no apology as “We stand by our story.” In the face of these mixed messages, and regular stories in the Mail claiming that the internet (and social networking in particular) will bring about the downfall of civilisation, Facebook have threatened legal action.

This is the second argument between Facebook and the Daily Mail, after the tabloid published a false story in March claiming that a reporter impersonating a 14 year old girl had been groomed by paedophiles within seconds of creating a Facebook account. The story was later retracted when it came to light that the reporter hadn’t actually joined Facebook at all.

Whether the social site follows through with their threat remains to be seen.

As such, Mrs Lowe has become something of a Facebook celebrity. Along with friend requests from her great-grand children, Lillian has been inundated with almost a thousand friend requests from well-wishers and admirers.

In an interview with the BBC, she explained that “[She has] had messages from all over the world” after a news story publicised her oldest-user status.

Mrs Lowe took the crown following the passing of 104 year old Ivy Bean earlier this year.

Facebook’s Fastest Growing Global Trends

1. HMU – Apparently it’s the Internet’s hottest new acronym and means “Hit Me Up!” No. Us neither.
2. World Cup – Football’s the global game, so it makes sense that the word was talking about South Africa 2010
3. Movies - Facebook’s all about the latest, hottest trends. Oh, and movies, which were first invented in 1890.
4. iPad/iPhone 4 – That’s more like it! Move over 19th Century entertainment, hello futuristic touch-screen devices!
5. Haiti – Following the Haitian Earthquake, Facebook users were quick to spread the word.
6. Justin Bieber – Him. Again. Do you know he’s got an advert calling himself “The MOST GOOGLED ARTIST EVER!”?
7. Games on Facebook – If you play Farmville, you’ll know that Facebook games are huge. And that your virtual cows are hungry.
8. Mineros/Miners – The feel-good story of the year, 33 miners safely rescued from a collapsed mine in Chile.
9. Airplanes – Hot technology again – 1903′s hottest new mode of transport has Facebook users abuzz.
10. 2011 - Always looking to the future…

Facebook’s Fastest Growing UK Trends

1. World Cup – Thousands of status updates following this pattern: “It’s our year!” “Come on England!” “Oh no, Germany.” “Viva Espana!”
2. Wagner – The legendary 19th century German composer experienced a revival this year, with Ride of the Valkeries hummed up and down the country. The inexplicably popular X Factor troll found an audience on Facebook.
3. Cher – 45 years in the business, and people still love Cher! Songs such as Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves just don’t get old. Oh. Apparently Cher was on X Factor too. Looks like they’re covering names as well as songs nowadays.
4. Rooney – For his legendary scoring prowess on off the pitch, Rooney was the name on every football fan’s lips this  year.
5. One Direction - I’m reliably informed that these were on the X Factor too. Even though they’ve not recycled a name.
6. British Soldiers – Facebook loves a squaddie. Good work out there guys. Well done.
7. David Cameron - You either love him, or you’re a student/a public sector worker/Nick Clegg’s increasingly lonely wife. Either way, the PM sneaks into the top 10.
8. John James – Not
9. Tinie Tempah – a
10. Celebrity Juice - clue.

So, Facebook’s clearly more Pop Culture oriented than Google, but at least Justin Bieber’s being ignored in the UK. We’ll let you know what people on Twitter are talking about as soon as we find out.

Berners-Lee claims that some of the internet’s most successful businesses are threatening the internet’s democratic foundations. And his fingers are firmly pointed at Facebook and Apple.

Facebook

Tim Berners-Lee singles out social networking sites as a prime example of a “walled garden”. Sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Friendster have brilliant databases showing how people are linked and interact, but then lock that data into the site in question. In Berners-Lee’s own words, “Eash site is a silo, walled off from the others…” – because data cannot be shared between sites (if the user wishes), Facebook sets itself apart from the Internet.

Funnily enough, this issue has been brought up before, with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg set dead against Facebook sharing any of the data he’s hoarding. As such it’s unlikely that Facebook are going to become more receptive to Berners-Lee’s dreams of the free exchange of information.

Apple

Tim Berners-Lee also criticised Apple (who, last week, called a huge press conference to announce they’d be selling albums which have been available offline since 1962) for creating their own walled-off section of the web.

By encouraging businesses to use Apps instead of websites, Apple has encouraged to take information off the web and store it in places which are only accessible by using Apple products. By keeping everything bottled up in iTunes’ centralised marketplace, Apple are creating a monopoly which Berners-Lee thinks can only be bad for users.

Predictably, Tim Berners-Lee has come out in support of net neutrality, following Ed Vaizey’s recent comments, although the communications minister has since decided he was misquoted, and isn’t in favour of a two tier internet after all.

This debate could rage on for a while, so we’re interested to hear what you think. Are Apple and Facebook bad for the web, or is Tim Berners-Lee pining for a utopian internet that could never come to pass. Share your thoughts in the comments section, or let us know via Twitter.

Tesco and Game are going to start selling Facebook ‘Credits’ – a virtual currency that lets users buy digital items, such as “gifts” (small illustrations displayed on the recipient’s wall) and additional items for games such as Farmville.

Credits have been available from Facebook via PayPal for a while, but this marks the first time that the site’s digital currency has been available from offline retailers. Of course, this isn’t a new concept. Microsoft’s Xbox Live system relies on users paying for MS Points, which are then used to download games, films or digital backgrounds for their games console.

So if your virtual farm doesn’t have enough digital cows, head down to Tesco or Game and exchange your real money for £10 or £20 worth of Facebook Credits. With Christmas coming, they might just be the perfect present for the person who gives you a Poke instead of a Christmas card.